Child
by shamaho
Summary: Dr. Hannibal Lecter has something to teach Clarice about life, hers in particular. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter One

Child

by Shamaho

Disclaimer- I do not own the works of Thomas Harris, which includes characters, places, events or anything within his text. I do own everything else however, and beg that if anyone wants to use my characters, places events or anything contained herein, please give me credit, and if this should be posted anywhere, just let me know where it will be.

Summary- Clarice Starling gave up a chance at a husband and children when she became a special agent, and has remained, though she denies it, very much a child herself. An alternate ending to Hannibal in which Dr. Lecter shows her just how much she missed out by giving up the experience of settling down.

* * *

Union Station, Washington D.C.

* * *

"It resents you more than the husband and children you gave up to it. Why is that, you think? Why are you so resented, Clarice?" 

Slamming her car door, Clarice Starling paused, trying to figure out where he was. "Tell me."

"Tell you?" By the musician, Lecter grinned and shook his head, dropped a coin into the container. "God bless. No Clarice, I think it's about time you told me, you never did say why you gave such a lifestyle up. What is it about the F.B.I. that has you pulled in so deep?"

She passed him and entered the building as Lecter had done, tried again to listen for some clue as to where he was. "I don't know, I just decided that I wanted to do this."

"You don't want children?"

It was a difficult question, she tried to avoid it. "I don't know."

"Come now Clarice, do you or do you not want children?" A music box, it sounded like . . . . The merry-go-round! She hurried to it, ignoring the men she knew were following her.

"I suppose I do, yes, yes I do want children."

"There, was that so bad? How old are you now Clarice, 35?"

"Nice guess, 34."

"Ahh, that's right, two years of training after college. And how do you propose you'll have children when you're going for advancement? It'll be harder the older you are, physically to conceive and bear any children, you know that Clarice. Though I'm not trying to push you, you are, very much, still a child yourself."

She spotted him on the merry go round, he grinned down at her and when he thought she would watch him turn she jumped onto it, took the horse next to him and turned the phone off. "How can you say that?"

He was slow in turning his own off. "Now Clarice, try not to be too insulted. I simply meant that you haven't seen everything just because you've been all over, you tend to act like I'm telling you what you already know."

"I do not, how do I act that way?"

"For one thing, you don't want to know, you want to know how. You're exploring very basic elements of life that most common people are still exploring, you are not common, Clarice, or else I would not associate myself with you."

"I don't see them anymore."

"Who?"

"Those men."

"They're two seats back, I felt the ride moved when the larger got on and both smell, you don't smell them?"

"No."

"Huh. Well, looks like we'd better try and get away." he took her hand and without further to do, hauled her off the ride and they hit the floor on their knees, both were quick to get up and start running. The buffoon Italians were nowhere in sight, which could be good or bad, on their way out, he made her stop by the photo booth.

"Wha . . . ."

He sighed, exasperated. "Just grab the box inside and let's go."

She obeyed, didn't bother admiring the expensive name and followed him, her hand still in his, out of the building, he was indeed very healthy. She thanked God she was. Both stopped with pained screams when a sharp, indescribable pain stabbed them in the backs, and both fell, writhing and moaning in pain. One Italian, which Clarice nicknamed bonehead because he did not check her purse or shoes, lifted her and tossed her into the back of the newly pulled up van, the other slugged Lecter twice, waited for him to be slightly unconscious before he tied him up in front of her, and he sat on a milk crate once the doors closed, terrified, she moved from her spot and hung over Lecter. "Doctor? Doctor are you ok?"

He groaned and hissed. "I'm actually kind of 'hungry', are you all right? Does your back tingle?"

She thought for a second, then shook her head in the negative. "No, no not really, a little."

"Good, it didn't burn your nerves then."

"What the hell was that?"

"A phaser." (Sp?)

"You're ok though? He didn't break your jaw or anything?"

"No, no, but I most certainly will be bruised."

"Ay!" Buffoon began talking to her fluently in Italian, apparently the only language he knew. Lecter hissed and responded in just as good Italian, which left Clarice both breathless in awe and admiration. Buffoon began cursing at Lecter and raised his fist to his him when Clarice sat back and let her booted foot go forward, cracked him in the jaw. Stunned, Buffoon looked to her and she told him. "Hands off." Which he clearly understood just as well.

When they arrived at Verger's home Bonehead tried to get Lecter onto some type of dolly, but Clarice threatened him by raising her boot, and Buffoon quickly warned him to do otherwise. Clarice grabbed Lecter's wrist and when Buffoon tried to escort her other ways she stomped towards him, her eyes threatening him his life. He let them walk ahead, phasers out, ready to zap if the two made a wrong move. Cordell met them at the front, shocked that Lecter was not tied up but when Clarice warned him parting them would be deadly, he simply led them to the lounge, where Mason rolled in shortly after.

He shouted something difficult to understand, it was in Latin, she assumed and his voice slurred so much that it would have been difficult otherwise. She understood, perfectly well, the rest of what was said.

"Ring any bells from high school biology, doctor?"

Lecter seemed to look amused, rather than upset, his hand slid from Clarice's wrist to her hand, where he squeezed gently.

"No? Well, I could list it's most conspicuous features if that would help, jog the memory. 3 pairs of incisors, 1 pair of elongated canines, 3 pairs of molars, 4 pairs of pre molars, upper and lower, for a total of . . . ."

"44 teeth." Clarice interjected, annoyed by the spectacle.

"Special agent Starling, or is it ex special agent?" He chuckled as best as he could. "Well, well, well, we shall have to set an extra place for you. Cordell? See to that Miss Starling, may I call you Clarice?"

"No."

He was surprised, but tried to uphold his dignity. "See that Miss Starling has a place during dinner." His attention turned back to Lecter, and he tried as best as he could to say. "The meal will begin with an _hors d'oeuvres tartetar."_ He gazed downwards as he announced. "Your feet. Miss Starling, you speak French, enlighten me, what does that mean?"

Even Lecter seemed to be interested in what she had to say. "A raw appetizer." She choked, suddenly not liking the situation at all.

"The uh, rest of you and the main course won't be served until seven hours later, but during that time you'll be able to enjoy the effects of the consumed appetizer with the full body saline drip." He played coy. "I guess you wish you'd fed the rest of me to the dogs."

Clarice would have responded the exact same way, and laughed when Lecter did, which made Mason less than pleased indeed. "No Mason, I much prefer you the way you are."

Pissed, and insulted, Mason declared. "So, dinner at eight." And turned the chair around and went back to where he came from.

When he had rode away, Clarice looked up at Lecter. "Sorry."

"You see, you ARE a child."

* * *

R&R, tell me what you think. 


	2. Chapter Two

Child

Chapter Two

A New Kind of Game

* * *

Lecter was being shipped out to the pen at around 7:30, the sun was just about down, and Starling was sitting in another part of the barn, throwing hay from a bale into a pile she was creating on the floor. She sighed, knowing she'd failed both the F.B.I., and Lecter, and wasn't looking forward to getting chunks of his feet on a Dixie plate, she had to think of something, this was the most complicated mess she had no help in getting out of. 

But as she looked to the sliding door, she realized it was not, there was her purse, and when she ran and checked it, she saw Bonehead had not removed her gun, or bullets. She grabbed it and tried to open the sliding door, it was locked. She went to the next door, opened it and was surprised to find her car sitting there, parked in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. She opened the back door, took out the gun, put some extra rounds in her pocket, then took the knife from her boot and stuck it into another pocket, shut the door and easily found another way into the pen, where she stormed in with the gun just in time.

"Hold it!" She yelled, raised the gun to them as they were preparing Lecter for the saline drip. He seemed thoroughly amused, and watched as she gave orders. "Put your hands where I can see them."

Buffoon said something to Bonehead, Bonehead replied and Starling glared at them. "Quiet!" She demanded, watched them carefully. Again, Buffoon and Bonehead exchanged words, shorter and when Bonehead moved and Buffoon pulled out a gun, Starling shot and killed Bonehead and shot the gun out of Buffoon's hand. "Down on your stomach!" She demanded, and he obliged, she handcuffed him to Bonehead and looked up as Lecter spoke.

"Good evening, Clarice. Just like old times, huh?"

She glared at him and took out the knife, moved to him. "Shut up." She set to figuring out the best, fastest way to free him. "Can you walk?"

"I can try." he said, looking back to the boars, then to her. "You look well."

"I'm gonna cut you loose," she said, freeing him of one bond, then moved in front of him with the gun poised. "You touch me, and I'll shoot you."

"I understand."

"You do right and you'll live through this."

"Spoken like a true Protestant, better hurry, Clarice." She made to cut the other bond and he informed her. "This might go faster if you hand me the knife." She watched him suspiciously, then handed the knife over and he worked at cutting his bond, a noise in the loft behind Lecter alerted her and without a thought, Clarice shot at it, and it fell dead. Just then, the boars broke free, and Verger and Cordell showed up, while the boars ate the Sardinians, Verger frantically tried to get Cordell to go get Buffoon's gun and shoot them, as he escorted her out, Lecter had a better idea.

"Hey Cordell, why don't you push him in? You can always say it was me."

This would never work, as his password was required to set Mason's wheelchair into autorun, but he was frightened and naive, so he did it. And Lecter didn't bother watching Mason die, he followed Clarice to her car, took the passenger's seat and they rode for ten minutes in silence. He was the one to break that silence.

"Where do we go now? Are you going to turn me in, Clarice?"

She bit her lower lip, made a turn and shrugged. "I don't know, I should . . ."

"Yes of course, the law. You just aided in the death of three people. . ."

"I had nothing to do with Mason's death and the others were dangerous criminals holding a man captive."

"You'd like to make yourself believe that, wouldn't you Clarice?"

She was stumped. No smart ass comment, no truth, no lie, she pursed her lips and tried to ignore him. She knew he was still waiting for an answer. "Where did I go wrong, doctor?"

He frowned, saw the expression that meant she was trying to look strong, the one of holding back a full bodied cry, sobs did not escape her lips, tears did not escape her eyes. "Given the chance, you would deny me my life, wouldn't you?"

She shook her head in the negative, swallowed past a lump in her throat. "Not your life."

"My freedom, just that, you'd take that from me. And if you did would they have you back, do you think? The F.B.I.? Those people you despise almost as much as they despise you? Will they give you a metal, Clarice? Do you think? Would you have it professionally framed and hang it on your wall to look at and remind you of your courage and incorruptablility? All you would need for that Clarice, is a mirror."

Two tears streaked down one side of her face as she met eyes with him, he was so impassioned about what he was saying and he knew every fiber of her from very little, but what if they would have her back? This was her life's work and she wasn't sure she was prepared to give it up yet. He stopped asking her upon seeing the look of digestion on her face, and he quieted once again, and she tried to look hard set, determined. He easily stopped her this time, picked her handcuff's from her pocket and clasped one side to her wrist, the other to his own. "Tell me Clarice, would you ever say to me, 'Stop! If you loved me you'd stop!'?"

It was then that she realized that Washington was full of corn pone country pussy and white trash, none of which gave a damn about her. But she couldn't say it, she knew it was true but couldn't say it, and tried to hide the conflicting emotions from her face. "Not in a thousand years."

"Not in a thousand years." He tasted the words, smiled softly and whispered. "Pull the car over."

She didn't know why she did it, but he was so commanding and she felt she always had to obey, she wasn't afraid, parking was a nightmare, with only one hand though. When she did, she looked at him, saw the hungry, anxious expression and realized, as her heart went into overdrive, that she was just as hungry for him. "Do you want to know hwere you went wrong, Clarice?"

She was shaking, his voice had mellowed, become low and sensual. And it sent every hair on her off end, her throat and mouth became dry. "Y-yes."

He slid closer, moved his face close to hers but did not move to kiss her. "Giving up the lifestyle you most desire. The lifestyle your father barely got to have, you were so worried about continuing to have your family name high on the law enforcement 'Cookie deservers' list that you forgot the one thing he looked forward to before your mother died, coming home to see his family."

She felt as if she would burst if he didn't kiss her, her heart began to pound at such a rate that she could have sworn he could feel it too, maybe he could smell her blood pulsing through her body, something gave hint that she needed his mouth on hers, she so he moved as if to bite, teeth bared, mouth wide open, so close, she did not flinch, did not cry out, was not afraid, so he smiled ever so gently. "That's my girl." And in claiming her for himself he viciously claimed her mouth, pressing his lips to hers and sliding his tongue over them to demand entry. She complied, starving for his kiss, moaning as he pulled her to him, deepening the kiss, his hands on each of her cheeks, then clasping her throat gently, needing her as close as possible. She was the one to break it, flushed and short of breath, lips swollen and red. "I- we have to go, Pearsall is gonna call at 9:30, if we hurry we can make it back in time. He'll go ballistic if I'm not there when he calls."

Upset that once again her career had meant more to her, he nodded, slid back into his seat and looked out his window, she cleared her throat and said. "Um, Dr. Lecter? Do you think you could uncuff me?"

"Sure, but you've got the key."

"Well yes but it's on the side I can't reach, if you'll just . . ." She scooted to make it easier and he dipped his hand into her pocket once again and took out the key, uncuffed them both and she sighed with relief. "Thank you." She gently kissed his cheek and grateful, drove them off.

* * *

Starling's home, Georgetown D.C.

* * *

They arrived to the phone ringing, she ran in and grabbed it, just in time. "Starling." she gasped, huffing for breath, she watched Lecter silently close the door as Pearsall began speaking. 

"Starling, where were you I was getting . . . Concerned."

"In the shower, what is it?"

"Well, we did a handwriting analysis on that postcard, turns out it isn't Lecter's, it's that butler of Verger's, Cordell. . . . Are you ok?"

"Yes I'm fine, does this mean I have my old job back?"

"Sure does Starling."

"I don't want it."

He was silent on the other end ofr a brief moment, stunned. "Pardon, Starling, pardon?"

"I don't want it, I'm gonna resign."

"What do you mean you're gonna resign? We need you Starling with your thinking skills and boy what a sharphooter, are you absolutely . . . ." She didn't hear the rest, because she hung up. Lecter hung up the other phone and came into the room, she was grinning at him with her arms crossed. "Shame on you."

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, I got curious, I am human, am I not?"

"Why is it doctor, that they resent me so much?"

"Because you're different then them, Clarice."

"Because I gave up a husband and children to slave for them."

"Well, the husband and children resent you for that. And wom was that husband, Clarice? If in this time period that I've been away you were to marry, maybe not for love but lack of choice, who would the lucky boy who would lose his mind have been?"

"Well, if I'd had to have chosen it probably would have been Paul Krendler. We had the hots for each other seven or eight years ago."

"That repugnant man from Justice?"

"Hey, you said if I HAD to choose."

"That I did."

"So," she plopped down on the couch, folded her arms and grinned up at him. "I have no job, I'm a child, and I'm starting to get hot for a serial killer psychiatrist, what do I do now?"

He shook his head, went, got two glasses and a bottle of wine stashed in the back of her refrigerator. "First of all, your new job is to travel, second, you've gorwn up exceptionally well in a days time and third, you aren't 'hot' for me, again, that's far too common for me to associate with." He poured her some wine, then himself and set the bottle aside, sat next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders as they both took a sip and set their glasses down. "From now on," he said softly, kissing her temple. "Call me by my name."

She smiled softly to herself, eyes wandered off, seeming to stare through the table as she thought back over the past ten years. "Hannibal the Cannibal."

* * *

Finis 

Yes, it was short, but it was a brief idea, plese review!


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